Homeland Security is keeping Americans safe from smuggled Kinder Eggs
Linda Bird couldn’t believe it when agents from the U.S. Border patrol at the crossing between Manitoba and Minnesota told her she had illegal contraband in her car – and that she faced the possibility of a $300 fine.
The unlawful property in question: a Kinder Surprise egg she had bought as a gift. The egg is forbidden in the US because the toy inside might be a choking hazard.
Bird was passing through the United States on a trip from Manitoba to visit her daughters in Ontario, where Kinder Eggs are legal, as they are in most of the world.
She has now received a seven-page letter from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency asking her if she wants the egg back or if she will abandon any rights to it.
If she doesn’t sign the letter and return it within five business days, she also could be liable for $250 in storage costs for the two dollar egg.
60,000 Kinder eggs were siezed by US Customs in 2011.
Authorities told one American couple, caught in a surprise inspection, that they could be liable to fines of up to $2500 per egg. But after detaining them for 2 hours, they let them go, along with their dangerous eggs.
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